Free Web NovelChapter 27: Chapter 27: The Oriole Behind
At that moment, he looked toward the mountain peak flickering with blue light, a fierce and covetous glint flashing in his eyes.
"Zhou Yan, you’re in charge of watching the surroundings. Report immediately if anything happens."
"Also, order everyone to stay sharp. We can’t let our guard down for a second in this final day. If you run into anyone else—no matter who they are—kill them on the spot!" Zhou Qiantian commanded, looking at one of the men.
The middle-aged man spoke these words casually, but they were steeped in chilling killing intent.
He was clearly a man of deep cunning and utter ruthlessness.
"Yes, Patriarch," Zhou Yan acknowledged before promptly departing.
"The Demon Thunder Beast’s Inner Core can only belong to my Zhou Family!" he declared, his voice cold and domineering.
...
Time slowly passed.
A torrential rain poured down, plunging the world into darkness beneath a sky thick with black clouds.
Then, in an instant, everything changed!
"ROAR!"
A beast’s roar suddenly erupted from the mountain peak!
CRACK! A bolt of lightning from the clouds struck down at the Demon Thunder Beast.
One bolt of lightning followed another, striking down relentlessly. The Demon Thunder Beast was trying to use the world’s Thunder Power to aid its breakthrough.
The Demon Thunder Beast’s aura gradually reached a terrifying peak, yet it still failed to break through to the True Martial Realm.
Slowly, the Demon Thunder Beast’s aura waned, then suddenly plummeted.
...
Inside the tent, Zhou Qiantian’s eyes flew open, crackling like lightning and flashing with a terrifying light. He let out a sharp cry.
"Now!"
Immediately, he and the other person in the tent stormed out.
The mountain peak ahead had fallen silent.
"The Demon Thunder Beast tried to use the Thunder Power of the heavens and earth to break through to the True Martial Realm. It clearly failed and is at its weakest right now."
"Everyone, with me! Attack!"
"Yes!"
"Yes!"
Over a dozen voices replied in unison. With a blur of movement, they all shot toward the mountain peak.
Not long after,
"ROAR!" The Demon Thunder Beast sensed the group’s unconcealed Spiritual Qi fluctuations and let out a furious roar.
"JIE JIE JIE... A Demon Beast is just a Demon Beast, after all. Too stupid to realize we’d already released Hidden Qi True Poison into the air to make its breakthrough fail before setting our ambush," someone cackled hideously.
"Normally, we couldn’t have hidden from it, but it was trying to break through to the True Martial realm and had to focus all its energy. From the looks of it, the Hidden Qi True Poison worked and caused its breakthrough to fail!" another person chimed in.
"Hahaha, this is the Zhou Family’s chance!" someone laughed boisterously.
The Demon Thunder Beast was on the mountain peak ahead.
Zhou Qiantian’s face was like ice. He raised a hand, sending a Wind Blade flying toward the Demon Thunder Beast.
A beast’s roar followed, powerful enough to trigger an earthquake.
Its roar was like thunder, shaking the land for miles and causing the entire mountain to tremble violently.
A bolt of thunder instantly shot out, aimed directly at the attacker, Zhou Qiantian.
The thunder was savage and incredibly fast, appearing before Zhou Qiantian in a mere flicker.
Even in its weakened state, the Demon Thunder Beast still possessed the power of a Spiritual Martial Ninth Layer Late Stage cultivator.
Zhou Qiantian’s expression was grim and cold. He clenched his fists, arcs of electricity dancing across his knuckles, and threw a sudden punch.
"BANG!"
Zhou Qiantian’s punch shattered the bolt of thunder.
"ROAR!"
As Zhou Qiantian blocked the attack, another roar echoed out.
This time, the weakened Demon Thunder Beast charged directly from the mountain peak, finally revealing its true form to the crowd.
It was a colossal Demon Beast, fifty feet tall. Blue lightning coiled around its body, forming a tempest of thunder.
Its bluish-purple scales reflected an eerie, indestructible light.
The Demon Thunder Beast radiated a violent Thunder Power that made the very air tremble and roar. An astonishing pressure emanated from it, spreading in all directions.
Nearby, the faces of the Zhou Family cultivators watching the Demon Thunder Beast turned pale.
’Wasn’t it supposed to be weakened? We poisoned the Half-Step True Martial Realm beast, made it fail its breakthrough... its strength should be at rock bottom!’
’How can it still be this powerful?’
’But it was too late for second thoughts. There was no turning back now.’
Although Zhou Qiantian’s expression was grave, he still believed he had a chance.
With a clench of his fist, a snow-white longsword appeared in Zhou Qiantian’s hand.
As the snow-white longsword appeared, it radiated an astonishing aura, bolstering his confidence considerably.
"Gentlemen, there’s no retreat for us! We stick to the plan! Kill!"
Zhou Qiantian barked the order and charged, meeting the Demon Thunder Beast head-on to draw its attention.
Watching Zhou Qiantian charge forward, the dozen or so men behind him flared their Spiritual Qi and followed him into the fray.
One beast against more than a dozen men. A chaotic battle erupted. For a moment, Wind and Thunder rolled, the air cracked, and trees toppled in the forest.
Aside from Zhou Qiantian and one other at the Spiritual Martial Ninth Layer Late Stage, the others were quickly struck down. Only a few remained.
「On the other side.」
Gu Yun had snuck into the Demon Thunder Beast’s lair.
With his Half-Step True Martial Realm cultivation and superb Body Technique, coupled with the fact that the Demon Thunder Beast’s attention was drawn elsewhere, it truly hadn’t noticed Gu Yun’s presence.
’The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. And this oriole was here to rob the nest.’
’Although I could just crush them all and take everything afterward, it feels much more satisfying to clean out the nest first and then wipe them out.’
Inside the mountain was a cave. It was quite large, with sparse vegetation around its entrance.
After a short search, Gu Yun made a new discovery. With a flash, he appeared in a deeper part of the cave.
Beside what looked like a massive "throne," he found several Celestial Thunder Stones—one of the main objectives of his trip.
They were palm-sized, translucent crystals of a faint blue hue, with tiny blue sparks of lightning flickering within.
Celestial Thunder Stones are formed when Profound Crystal Stones are struck by lightning over long periods. Their function is to attract celestial thunder.
Once Gu Yun broke through to the True Martial Realm, his Spiritual Qi would transform into True Yuan—a change in both quantity and quality that would cause his power to skyrocket.
He planned to use celestial thunder to practice his Cultivation Technique, the Nine Tribulations Gang Thunder Scroll, and his Body Refinement technique, the Thunder Gang Body.
After bending down and picking up the five Celestial Thunder Stones,
Gu Yun continued deeper into the cave.
The depths of the cave were dim but not completely dark. Faint glimmers of light shone from the surrounding walls, emanating from some sort of phosphorescent stones.
Gu Yun followed the path to the deepest part of the cave, where he found himself standing before a massive blue crystal.
"This... This is a Thunder Crystal Stone?" Gu Yun stammered in shock.
A Thunder Crystal Stone is a crystal that contains Thunder Power. Cultivators can directly absorb it to enhance their Cultivation. They are often found in the lairs of Thunder Element Demon Beasts.
They form over long periods when a Demon Beast absorbs and expels Thunder Power, and the occasional overflow is absorbed by the surrounding crystals.
"Excellent."
Gu Yun nodded in satisfaction, a hint of joy in his eyes, and placed it into his Storage Ring.
Suddenly,
Gu Yun’s brow twitched. He turned to look behind him.
A dark shadow had appeared inside the cave, resolving into the figure of a person dressed in black.
The person looked at Gu Yun with undisguised hostility and said coldly, "I didn’t expect someone to beat me to it. You’re certainly fast."
’So, another one trying to rob the nest while the Demon Thunder Beast is away.’
